Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois wants to put an end to any chatter about the notion that he'd deal away his longtime franchise cornerstone.

"The one thing I would say just to get it out there because I know as we get closer to the deadline, it's a popular and interesting and frequent topic: 'Who's going to get traded? Who won't get traded?'" BriseBois said Tuesday, according to team reporter Chris Krenn.

"Steven Stamkos isn't getting traded. You can all write that ... so we can put that one to bed if anyone was speculating on that," the GM continued. "That's not going to change between now and the deadline under any circumstances."

BriseBois said they'll sit down after the season to evaluate where both the team and Stamkos are and try to "make all the parts work together." The GM noted that the fact that Stamkos has been the face of the Lightning franchise for so long "obviously factors" into the decision.

Stamkos is a pending unrestricted free agent who was eligible to sign an extension as of July 1, 2023. Tampa Bay isn't as much of a lock to make the 2023-24 postseason as it has been in recent years; the Bolts occupy fifth place in the Atlantic Division in points percentage through 44 games.

Stamkos has captained the perennially competitive squad since 2013-14 and has been the sole holder of the "C" since 2014-15. The veteran forward, who'll turn 34 on Feb. 7, has played all 16 of his NHL seasons with Tampa Bay and is the club's all-time leader in games played, goals, and points while ranking second in assists.

The two-time "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner and one-time Hart runner-up helped the Bolts win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021 (though he was injured for all but one postseason game during the first one) and was a part of four Cup Final appearances (2015 and 2022 being the others). Tampa drafted him first overall in 2008.

He's still producing at an impressive clip, having notched a point per game over 41 contests - including 18 goals - while averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time.

The Lightning have about $65 million committed to players' cap hits next season with only depth players left to sign after Stamkos. His current deal carries an average annual value of $8.5 million, per CapFriendly.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Chicago Blackhawks inked forward Jason Dickinson to a two-year contract extension with a $4.25-million cap hit, the club announced Tuesday.

Dickinson was a pending unrestricted free agent. The 28-year-old ranks third on the team with 21 points in 43 games this season. His career-high 14 goals trail only Connor Bedard by one.

The Ontario-born center plays on both sides of special teams for Chicago, suiting on the second power-play unit and first penalty-killing group.

Dickinson is in his second campaign with the Blackhawks, who acquired him in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks in October 2022. He's in the final season of a three-year pact he signed with his former club in the summer of 2021. It carries a cap hit of $2.65 million, according to CapFriendly.

He spent his first six campaigns with the Dallas Stars, who drafted him 29th overall in 2013.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Carolina Hurricanes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov is in concussion protocol, head coach Rod Brind'Amour confirmed Friday, according to team reporter Walt Ruff.

Kochetkov was injured in a collision with Anaheim Ducks forward Isac Lundestrom during the Hurricanes' 6-3 win on Thursday.

Kochetkov is 11-7-3 with a .900 save percentage this season. However, he'd excelled in the 10 games before Thursday's abbreviated outing, boasting a 7-1-2 record and a .931 save percentage in that stretch. The 24-year-old allowed three goals on 13 shots before leaving the contest.

Antti Raanta will presumably retake the reins in the Hurricanes' crease. Carolina waived the 34-year-old, who's struggled immensely this season, on Dec. 16. The Finnish goalie is 7-5-2 with an .861 save percentage over 16 games in 2023-24.

Kochetkov is in his third campaign with the Hurricanes, though he played only three regular-season games during his first in 2021-22. He suited up for four playoff contests that spring amid injuries to Raanta and Frederik Andersen.

Andersen hasn't played since Nov. 2 due to a blood-clotting issue and is out indefinitely.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Chicago Blackhawks inked Nick Foligno to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $4.5 million, the club announced Friday.

Foligno has eight goals and nine assists across 39 games with the Blackhawks this season. The veteran forward is in his first campaign with Chicago after spending the previous two with the Boston Bruins.

The 36-year-old has also suited up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Ottawa Senators in his 17-year career. He captained Columbus from 2015-16 through the abbreviated 2021 season and played seven campaigns with the club.

Foligno is among numerous Blackhawks players currently dealing with injuries. Chicago placed him on IR last Saturday after he left Friday's game against the New Jersey Devils.

He's the oldest player on the Blackhawks roster.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Elvis may be about to leave the building.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Elvis Merzlikins agreed to find "a new scenario" for the goaltender, he told The Athletic's Aaron Portzline on Friday. However, Merzlikins clarified he hasn't formally asked for a trade.

"I love Columbus. I love these guys. I grew up here," he said, adding, "(but) I'm not a backup goaltender."

"I just want to be treated as No. 1, I believe that I am No. 1," Merzlikins added. "It didn't (get) to that point where I'm requesting (a trade). It went to the point that both sides agreed."

Merzlikins said he'll give his best if he's called upon because he's "dead serious" that the Blue Jackets are his "family." But the veteran netminder isn't content to be relegated to the bench.

"I want to play," he said. "I'm not going to be No. 3, I can assure you that. Especially (given) the hard work I did this summer, mentally and physically. I just want to play my game and keep having fun like I had."

Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent said Merzlikins will back up Daniil Tarasov against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, according to Portzline. Vincent replied, "That's above my paygrade," when asked about the situation.

The Latvian goalie hasn't played since Dec. 29 when he was pulled after allowing two goals to the Toronto Maple Leafs on 14 shots in a game the Blue Jackets ultimately won in overtime with Spencer Martin in the crease.

Tarasov has started Columbus' last three games and four of the last five. He's 2-3-2 with an .883 save percentage in seven games since making his season debut with the club on Dec. 16.

Merzlikins, who'll turn 30 in April, has spent his whole five-year career with the Blue Jackets, who drafted him 76th overall in 2014. He ranks fifth in franchise history in games played, wins, and losses.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Macklin Celebrini unsurprisingly sits No. 1 among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting's midseason rankings.

Celebrini, the projected first overall pick in June's NHL Draft, is fresh off representing Canada at the world juniors. The Boston University standout collected four goals and four assists over five games despite his country's fifth-place finish.

In his freshman season with the Terriers, Celebrini has been dominant from a point production standpoint. The 17-year-old - who'll turn 18 about two weeks before the June draft - has 11 goals and 16 assists across 16 NCAA contests.

Here are the top 10 North American skaters:

Konsta Helenius leads the way among European skaters. The 17-year-old - who turns 18 in May - has notched eight goals and 12 assists in 29 games with Jukurit in Finland's Liiga this season. He has the most points by an under-19 player in the league in 2023-24 and the second-most by a teenager.

Here are the top 10 European skaters:

Carter George of the OHL's Owen Sound Attack is the top-ranked North American goaltender, and Kim Saarinen of HPK's junior squad in Finland tops the list of international netminders.

The NHL Draft is scheduled for June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe didn't hold back when assessing his team's performance in situations other than even strength during an overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday.

"(We) had a pretty significant advantage in the scoring chances at five-on-five, but (our) special teams were rotten tonight," Keefe said postgame.

"(The) power play had one chance and did nothing with it. It's as bad as we've looked in any power play," the bench boss added. "And then (on the) penalty kill, it's in our net before we can even blink to start the game. Second period, first we take a penalty, the careless high stick with control of the game. Those are the kinds of mistakes that cost you games, that cost you points."

The Islanders converted two of their three opportunities with the man advantage. Kyle Palmieri opened the scoring 40 seconds into the contest and Bo Horvat tied it with 6:09 to go in the third period. Mathew Barzal won it 21 seconds into the overtime session after assisting on each of New York's first three goals.

Toronto boasts the NHL's sixth-best power play, with a 26.7% success rate. However, the club's penalty kill ranks 24th at 76.8%. The Maple Leafs are 4-0-1 since the calendar flipped to 2024, but their penalty kill ranks 28th in that span at 66.7% as they've allowed three goals in nine of those situations.

The Leafs occupy third place in the Atlantic Division at 21-10-8. They're seven and six points behind the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, respectively, but they've played two fewer games.

The Islanders improved to 19-12-10 with their victory. They're tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division both in terms of points (48) and points percentage (.585).

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark is out day-to-day with an injury, according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa. Ullmark is with the club on its road trip, but Jeremy Swayman is expected to start against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

After making a glove save on Logan Cooley, Ullmark went down and had to be helped off the ice. Swayman replaced the Swede, and Nick Schmaltz scored the winner on the first shot Swayman faced.

Ullmark has played well while splitting duties with Swayman this season. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner is 13-5-2 with a .915 save percentage.

That pales in comparison to his .938 mark from a season ago, but Ullmark ranks among the league leaders in goals saved above expected and goals saved above average both at five-on-five and in all situations in 2023-24, according to Evolving-Hockey.

Bruins rookie forward Matt Poitras is also day-to-day. He left in the third period of the loss on Tuesday following a collision with Coyotes defenseman Sean Durzi.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Toronto Maple Leafs summoned goaltender Ilya Samsonov from the AHL's Toronto Marlies, the NHL club announced Wednesday.

The Leafs sent Samsonov down on New Year's Day after waiving him one day prior. However, he didn't play a game with the Marlies, as the parent club's plan for him was to simply work with the goalie coaches and support staff while the Leafs were on a three-game road trip in California. They've since returned, defeating the San Jose Sharks 7-1 on home ice Tuesday night.

Samsonov has struggled mightily this season after impressing in 2021-22. He has the fourth-fewest goals saved above average at five-on-five in the NHL (minus-7.39) and the 11th-fewest goals saved above expected (minus-4.72) in those situations in 2023-24, according to Evolving Hockey.

The Russian netminder has the NHL's worst GSAx and GSAA in all situations this season. He's 5-2-6 with a .862 save percentage in 15 games.

Samsonov, who'll turn 27 on Feb. 22, is coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which he went 27-10-5 with a .919 save percentage. The Leafs rewarded him with a one-year, $3.55-million contract over the summer.

Martin Jones has taken over as Toronto's No. 1 goalie of late, starting the club's last five games. He's won the last four, posting a .972 save percentage in that span while allowing only three goals on 106 shots. Joseph Woll had previously taken the reins, but he hasn't played since he got injured Dec. 7.

The Leafs sent Dennis Hildeby back down to the Marlies in a corresponding move Wednesday. They called him up when they sent Samsonov down, but Hildeby didn't get into any games during his call-up. Jones started back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 2 and 3.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Connor McDavid expressed his disdain for long, drawn-out offside reviews on very close plays after his Edmonton Oilers had a goal called back Tuesday night.

"If it takes you 15 minutes to determine if it's offside or not, it probably doesn't really matter," he said with a laugh following the Oilers' 2-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Though it didn't ultimately affect the outcome, Zach Hyman's goal early in the third period was overturned after a lengthy review because Leon Draisaitl was deemed to be offside.

Here's another look at the play:

"I talked to the linesman after. Ultimately, it's not their call, I guess," McDavid said. "Obviously, they said it came down from the league. But you zoom in, you zoom in, you keep zooming in until you can't zoom in anymore, and I guess it's offside," he added with a laugh.

"These are calls that change games, and, ultimately, it didn't go our way," McDavid said.

The three-time MVP noted that while it was a very close call, the league's reviews are intended to reverse decisions on plays that are more plainly evident.

"I think the NHL uses the analogy 'dead wrong' ... like they want it to be clear and obvious, right? That one's certainly not clear and obvious."

McDavid scored the eventual game-winner earlier in the contest, notching his 15th tally of the season early in the second period. Draisaitl tied the game in the first about two minutes after Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson opened the scoring.

Edmonton improved to 21-15-1 with the victory. The Oilers won their eighth straight game and now sit fourth in the Pacific Division. The injury-riddled Blackhawks - playing without rookie superstar Connor Bedard and numerous others - dropped to 12-27-2. Only the San Jose Sharks have a worse record (9-29-3) this season.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.